Judging the Bricks. Step 6: Roofs

Judging the Bricks. Step 6: Roofs

Water ingress is one of the most common claims and also one of the more difficult to rectify. A well designed and installed roof is an integral part of a quality build, and goes a long way to preventing water ingress.

Some of the areas reviewed by our surveyors when judging this element include:

Framing

Ventilation

Coverings (flat and pitched)

Flashing and gutters

Our Head Judge, Mike Swatton, goes into detail on what he looks for when inspecting roofs for The Bricks below.

“It’s important that roof coverings are fitted in accordance to any fixing schedule, particularly in coastal areas or areas where they’re exposed, so the fixings are sufficient for their needs.

We’re looking at how well the tiles or slates are laid, the gauge and the lap and then underneath those the batons are fixed and the right sizes fixed at every rafter. Outside again, to the roof coverings, we’re looking at hips, valleys and ridges to make sure they mechanically fit. We’re also looking at roof framing which includes truss rafters, which are often manufactured off site but it’s important we see they are fixed correctly, they are plumb, they are fixed down to the plate and that there’s bracing connected to them which holds them true, longitudinal and diagonal bracing. We’re also looking at lateral restraint straps which connect the roof to the walls making sure the walls are fixed into the roof frame.”

Best Practice

Chapter 7 of our Technical Manual on Superstructure includes a detailed section on roofing. You can download Chapter 7 of our Technical Manual for full details of our technical guidance.